Drop your photo, get a 420×525 px JPEG between 10 and 20 KB — the Sarathi Parivahan format for learner’s licence and driving licence applications. For the signature, type 256x64 into Exact size. Nothing is uploaded; it all runs in your browser.
Driving licence and learner’s licence applications in India go through the Sarathi Parivahan portal (sarathi.parivahan.gov.in), and its official scan-and-upload guide specifies two files. The photograph: a recent (within 6 months) passport-size colour JPG, 35×45 mm — minimum 420×525 pixels, with 420×525 stated as the preferred size — between 10 KB and 20 KB. The signature: signed in black pen on white paper, 256×64 pixels, also 10–20 KB. Both ends of each range are enforced, and the portal shows an error for a file outside them. This page is preset to the photo format; for the signature, type 256x64 into Exact size above (Target stays 10-20kb).
420×525 is about 220,000 pixels, and squeezing that into 20 KB means JPEG quality in the 40s or lower — visible softness on most photos. That's the specification's tradeoff, not a defect in your file: every accepted Sarathi photo is compressed this hard. PixFit binary-searches for the best quality that still fits under 20 KB, which is as good as the format allows. A sharp, well-lit, plain-background source photo survives the squeeze much better than a dim or busy one.
256×64 is only 16,000-odd pixels — a clean signature scan at that size encodes around 3–5 KB even at maximum JPEG quality, below the 10 KB minimum, so plain resizing produces a file Sarathi refuses. PixFit encodes at best quality and then pads the file up to the floor with a JPEG comment segment — plain padding bytes the format itself allows; no pixels change. One quirk worth knowing: the official PDF prints the signature's paper width as “35cm” (an obvious typo for 3.5 cm) — the portal validates pixels and kilobytes, so crop tight to the ink and let the 256:64 shape do the rest. You can also draw your signature with a finger or stylus and fit it here — keep it your normal signature, since Sarathi records verify against ink signatures later. The signature must be yours alone; applicants who cannot sign use a thumb impression in this slot instead (the guide specifies right thumb for women, left for men).
The photo must be against a light, preferably white background, looking straight at the camera. Glasses are fine if there are no reflections and your eyes are clearly visible; caps, hats and dark glasses are not; religious headwear is allowed as long as it doesn't cover the face. The guide also warns that an unclear face or signature can get the application rejected — re-uploading is only permitted until the scrutiny stage, so it's worth getting right the first time. Scans should be made at 300 DPI or better — the DPI label field above is preset to 300, so PixFit writes that figure into the JPEG header to match (the portal validates pixels and kilobytes; the label simply agrees with the guide). A straight-on phone photo of the signature on white paper also works if it's evenly lit (iPhone HEIC drops straight in and comes out as JPEG).
These figures come directly from the official Sarathi photo & signature upload guide (PDF), and they've been stable for years — but the upload screen for your state and service wins if it ever states something different. Everything PixFit does runs in your browser: nothing is uploaded to any server, and re-encoding strips EXIF/GPS from phone photos as a side effect. Uploading documents for a PAN card too? That's a different spec family — see the PAN card page.